Burner structure



March 17, 1936. O J KugNHoLg 2,034,041

BURNER STRUCTURE Filed June 50, 1950 ATTORNE! INVENTOR I Patented Mar.17, 1936 NITED STATES OF-Fl 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a burner structure and, partic ilarly, to animprovement in the arrangement of gas or vapor fuel burners for use inenclosed gas appliances.

The invention is particularly applicable to a burner of the typeemploying a multiplicity of yellow flame burner tips such as theordinary slotted yellow flame burner tip or a Bray tip in which a flatflame is produced by impingement of two jets of flame, the burner tipsbeing arranged either substantially in line or circular disposition andspaced apart so that the side edges of the flat flames which finallyresult approach each other but preferably do not make actual contact.

When such an alignment of burner tips is employed in the usual way,there are numerous disadvantages one of which results from the uprush ofair from below the tips tending to elongate the flame and destroy itsquietness as well as its shape. Another disadvantage results from theeddy currents of combustion products being set up above the burnerswhich, under certain conditions, sweep downward between the burner tipsand upward against the flames causing imperfect combustion by preventingair from reaching the flames as is evidenced by a floating flame orextinquishment of the flame over a part or all of the burner. Further,in the usual type of burners, the air supply must be excessive to getperfect combustion and aeration of the flames.

The above disadvantages are typical of yellow flame burner tips whenemployed in multiple and have heretofore held back the use of burners ofthis type, notwithstanding their advantages in other respects over theBunsen type of burner usually employed in gas heating appliances, andprevious to my invention no solution of this problem has been found.

Some of the objects of my invention are to provide a burner having agreater range of gas consumption with perfect combustion from minimum tomaximum flames; to provide a burner of such nature as to give perfectcombustion under adverse draft conditions or with a minimum air supplywhereby more gas may be completely burned per unit of horizontal burnerarea and with less free oxygen in the combustion prodnets; to provide aburner wherein fuel may be burned without air premixture, an air mixer,or mixer adjustment so that the burner cannot backfire or clog withcarbon or dust; to provide a burner that will burn the fuel underunusually low fuel pressure and one which will burn gas or vapor ofwidely diiferent composition and speciflc gravity; to provide a burnerwhich will burn quietly and in which all burner tips will readily igniteone from the other even though the fuel supply is only partially turnedon; to provide a burner which requires minimum cleaning or attention andwill not readily extinguish; and to provide a burner which presents nodifficulties of construction for application to varying conditions orfor different usages.

Various other objects and advantageous features of my invention will beseen in the following description and one embodiment thereof may be seenin the accompanying drawing wherein similar characters of referencedesignate corresponding parts, and wherein:

Fig. l is a side View, partly in section, showing a burner structureconstructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a topplan view,partly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is aview, partly in section, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown one embodiment of my invention ascomprising a burner structure consisting of a casing I having a bottomportion 2 of foraminous material, such, for instance, as wire mesh. Thiscasing provides a means for supporting a raw fuel supply pipe 3 whichextends through an enlarged portion 4 thereof and is secured therein inany desired manner, said fuel supply 3 within said casing supporting aburner element 5 embodying a plurality of spaced oppositely disposedtips 6, such as the yellow flame tips or the Bray tips above mentioned.The casing I also provides a means for suitably supporting a pilot lighttip 1 which, in this instance, is disposed above the burner tips 6 forreasons that will be hereinafter apparent.

In accordance with my invention, a sheet metal or cast metal air guide9, that is so formed as to place each row of burner tips 6 in a channelI0 extending approximately from the top to the bottom of the flamesnormally issuing from the burner tips, is mounted upon the burnerelement 5 by means of bushings l l and screws l2 that extend downwardlythrough the bushings; and into the burner element.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, axially aligned, longitudinally spacedopenings l3 are provided in the side walls of the air guides 9 onopposite sides of each burner tip 6, through which openings air is drawnby the flame issuing from each tip in such manner as toimpinge in equalamount and with equal force on each side of each flame. These airstreams through said openings l3 are the sole air supply for the flamesinasmuch as the air guide plate 9 substantially closes the entirehorizontal area of the combustion chamber as regards updraft of air. Theopenings I3, as shown, are arranged at a slightly higher level ofelevation than that of said burner tip 6, the centers of said openingsbeing substantially in alignment with the flames normally issuing fromsaid tips. An opening [4 in the air guide plate 9 permits theapplication of flame below the pilot light tip 1 to ignite the same,thereby making the use of a fire door unnecessary.

A friction igniter which consists of a fly wheel I 5 that is keyed tothe shaft l6 which is rotatable in a bearing l1 and a piece ofpyrophoric metal I8 is held against the fly wheel by suitable ad-Justable mechanism l9 which may be provided as shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawing for igniting the fuel issuing from the pilot light tip I. Whensuch a device is employed, the same opening M which permits theapplication of a flame to the pilot tip may be utilized as a means forpermitting sparks from the friction igm'ter to reach the fuel issuingfrom the pilot light tip and ignite the same.

In my construction, I have provided a burner mechanism embodyingnumerous novel and highly advantageous features. For instance, by theuse of the air guide plate 9 which permits only lateral air streams toimpinge upon each flame from each side thereof, I have provided a burnermechanism in which the flames issuing from the fuel tips will beflattened or spread out laterally and thoroughly aerated and, since noair stream plays upwardly against the bottom of the flame, the flamewill not be elongated upwardly but will be reduced in height and thenormal vertical position of the flame held. Further, by the use of thisair guide plate, downward eddy currents of combustion products cannotreach the flames and interfere with perfect combustion or aeration.

Another advantageous feature resides in the fact that irrespective ofthe amount of fuel issuing from the fuel tips, the flames will stillretain their flattened condition due to the counterimpinging air streamsflowing inwardly toward the flames from the opposite sides thereof.

A further advantageous feature of this construction resides in the factthat when gas or fuel is first turned on and issues from the fuel tipsand a flame is applied to any one of the flame channels, the ignition offuel from all tips in said chamber is practically immediate even thoughthe amount of fuel issuing from the fuel tips is very small. The reasonfor this is that the counter-impinging air currents meet the gas and mixwith it whereby a combustible product is sprayed out to fill the entirechannel. This is particularly true when a constantly burning pilot flamehas set up an initial draft. A still further advantageous featureresides in the fact that the air guide plate is so disposed as to keepthe space below the burner element relatively cool, thus guardingvalves, safety mechanisms and the like, from excess heat yet permittingsuch device to be located relatively close to the burner element.

While I have shown the fuel tips arranged in parallel lines, it isobvious that such tips may be in non-parallel disposition, at rightangles or arranged arcuately, and the air guide plate may be in the formof an integral bent plate or casting, or may be in several parts, asdesired. Further, the air openings in the guide plate may assume suchforms as varied applications or further developments may necessitate ormay be of any number desired. For instance, they may be raised orlowered with relation to the flame, all as will be readily understood.

What I claim is:

1. A burner structure, comprising a raw fuel burner tip, and an airguide for producing a flat vertical impingement zone directly above thefuel tip, said guide including a member of substantially U-shape invertical cross section and provided with axially aligned air admittingopenings in two opposite side walls thereof, said openings being spacedlaterally from and being disposed at a higher level than said fuel tip.

2. A burner structure, comprising a raw fuel tip, and an air guide forproducing a flat vertical impingement zone directly above said fuel tip,said guide including a member of substantially U-shape in vertical crosssection and provided with axially aligned air admitting openings in twoopposite side walls thereof, said openings being spaced laterally fromand being disposed at a higher level than said fuel tip and having theircenters substantially in alignment with the center of a normal flameissuing from said tip.

3. A burner structure, comprising a raw fuel tip, and an air guide forproducing a fiat vertical impingement zone directly above said fuel tip,said guide including a member of substantially U-shape in vertical crosssection and provided with axially aligned air admitting openings in twoopposite side walls thereof, said openings being spaced. laterally fromand being disposed at a higher level than said fuel tip and having theircenters substantially in alignment With the center of a normal flameissuing from said tip, the area of each of said openings being less thanthat of said normal flame.

OTTO JOHN KUENHOLD.

